


UP

by HyourinmaruIce



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Up (2009)
Genre: Balloons, Colors, Crossover, Gen, I dunno anymore, snipe, things, up - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-24 16:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyourinmaruIce/pseuds/HyourinmaruIce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Rumbelled version of UP where Belle has outlived her husband and must survive day to day.<br/>The preface is called Seventy-Five years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	UP

The doorbell rang.

It wouldn't have been so unusual, were it not Tuesday. She had rules for Tuesday, one if them being that she was left along until two. At which point, she would then seek out the construction workers for tea and biscuits. They seem to appreciate her ice tea in summer and they loved her hot tea in winter. 

The doorbell rang again.

Groaning, she peeked at the ceiling and listened to see if they tried again.

'Ding Dong'

She swung her legs up and over the side of her bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning while she did so. Another 'Ding Dong' echoed throughout her home and she had to wonder who would be at her door at, she looked over to her nightstand to read the clock waiting there, seven in the morning. This was too early.

Grumbling and reaching for the cane that leaned against the nightstand, she managed to stand up without too much pain in her joints and her arthritis just below simmering. Turning her torso to the left, she felt her spine 'pop', and then she relaxed. She didn't have time to go through her whole morning routine, as the doorbell's continuous ringing told her, so she merely sighed and did her best to stamp down her curls on her way to the stairs. 

They weren’t difficult to climb or descend, but they were hazardous when one wasn't fully awake and that was something she was at the moment. She didn't have time to safely take the lift though, so she sighed and took the journey down the stairs a step at a time. Each step, slightly bigger than the usual step at a school or other public place, took a few seconds before she could do the next. About halfway down, she adjusted her hearing aid so the, now, continuous ringing of the doorbell would not bother her. 

The bottom was the holy grail, a safe haven as she grinned and giggled with glee. She made her way to the door in short order, taking care to readjust her hearing aide so she could hear her visitor speak. 

She swung the stained glass door open. It looked to be as if no one was there. Then she remembered she had a little friend who was short and just might visit her on a day like today.

She looked down. 

“Hello Henry!” she smiled at the ten year old in his cub scout uniform.

“Hi Belle!” he squeaked, his voice not quite mature but his smile wide and happy.

“What can I do for you young man?”

He preened a little at her words. Then he averted his brown eyes, his eyes were the only brown ones in Mary Margaret's family but Belle didn't have the heart to point it out, before he began to recite something that sounded like his club oath that she had heard when sitting in the audience of his initiation ceremony. 

“Henry,” She suppressed her giggle and waited for the young boy to raise his eyes and meet her gaze.

“Yeah?”

“I'm a little hard of hearing my dear, would you mind speaking a little louder?”

He shifted uncomfortably.

A businessman and a construction worker walked up her driveway and, without a second thought, she pulled Henry into the house and pushed him into the main room. She patted down her hair and smoothed out her clothes, quickly returning to the open door to greet them, “What can I do for you boys?” She heard Henry snicker from inside the main room and she barely suppressed her smile.

The construction worker began to speak, outlining the days plans and the need to have the house out of the way. She declined each offer, this was her library and she'd be damned if they ever got their hands on her Rumpel, “I can see you're not going to budge,” The smile he gave was weak and Belle almost snorted, “Just one last request, instead of coming to us for tea... can we come to you? We would love to see the place you want to protect so much, as well as make sure you aren't in danger of falling down or hurting yourself by coming to give us tea,”

His genuine smile and bright eyes melted her heart, she quickly said yes and what time they were supposed to show up along with other minor details about staying and having tea in her library. She was so busy with the construction worker, she didn't see the businessman's smile/ When they left, she barely noticed the construction worker hand his head in what looked to be shame.

“You called them boys,” She heard Henry giggle as she entered the main room. A pointed look silenced him and he grew uncomfortable once more.

“Henry, I know you need your assist the elderly badge because Mary Margaret told me, your grandmother. Why don’t you go to her eh? I'm sure she needs something from you,” Belle, while loving her god grandson to pieces, hadn't wanted to deal with the cub scouts, eagle scouts, or any child organization for the past five years and she doubted that was going to change now.  
“Grandpa died a few months ago,” His voice was so soft and sweet, but it sliced through her heart and she was forced to lean against the nearest book shelf because her husbands cane wasn't enough to support her. She watched at he ran his fingers over the spines of her books, “I don't want to bother her,”

She stayed silent for a few seconds, watching the boy, “I'm so sorry,”

He shook his head and smiled at her, “He was old anyway! So can I help you?

She felt guilty, not only had she learned of Robin's death second hand, she had nothing to give her god grandson to do. She needed to do something for him.

“Not today...” Perhaps some time would give her an idea, “But come back two weeks from now, a little later in the day than you did so today, and I'll have a special errand for you,”

The boy gave her a grin in reward for her quick thinking, “Alright then! Thanks Belle,” He began to move away when Belle remembered something that didn't quite add to his story in the right way.

“Oh Henry,” He paused.

“Yeah?”

“Don't you still need your camping in the woods badge?” She tilted her head and bit her lips, generally motioned to the sash of buttons. His features shifted just enough that she knew it hadn't been a good question to ask.

“I'm going to get it after I help you.” His voice was just above a whisper.

“Alright, hurry home. I bet E.... I bet your mom is after you,” She smiled softly at him, trying to lighten the tension she felt in the room.

“You're right!” His eyes widened, “Oh my gosh! I need to get back, she's gunna kill me or give me to the evil witch!” Then he was running away, the backpack on his back bumping up and down as he moved along.

She giggled.

 

At two her guests arrived and she had already set the tea and biscuits. They dug in almost immediately. Idle chatter and compliments floated around, each meaningless as she watched them from Rumpel's chair. 

The main room was mostly library, with a fireplace and a wall for pictures. There were two chairs in the main room that were different from the set she'd dug out of the attic earlier, nearly throwing her back out in the process. One was gold and elegant, the other blue and soft. She sat in the blue one, Rumpel's chair.

“Excuse me ma'am,” She was brought out of he revere by the tap of a construction worker on her shoulder.

“Um, Yes?” She shook her head and smiled at the boy. She said boy, but he was likely twenty-two or so, his sandy brown hair covering the top of his eyes.

“Do you have a personal bathroom I can use...?” he sounded so unsure and sweet.

“Second floor on the left,”

It was such a normal conversation, but his shoulders were tense and is eyes sad. She wondered what was wrong, but when her gaze met the businessman's smirk as he sat in her chair, she knew something was wrong.

Oh.

And when she heard the thump coming from the staircase, she closed her eyes in defeat. 

 

Court lasted a week and a half, her begging and pleading over ruled for 'public safety' or just safety in general. It was bogus and wrong, she and the head of whatever company was getting her library when she was forced to move both knew it.  
“May I have a minutes to say goodbye?” She looked at the man on her step, the step to her library that they expected her to leave.

“Of course ma'am,” Said the man without his name badge, he quickly turned and began towards the white van across the street.

The partner, whose name badge was too far away for her to read without glasses that she didn't own. She waited. Getting the problem, his eyes widened in embarrassment, he turned and followed his partner to the van that was getting loaded with her bags. She snickered as she shut the door.

Idiots.

But, before she could get to her work, her door bell rang. Which was odd.

She quickly answered it to fine the bright, shining face of her god grandson.

“Hi Belle!” This was quite possibly the worst point in time to see him, but he was her god grandson and she could deny him nothing.

“Hello Henry!” she grinned as he charged into her home, brushing through the skirts of her dress in the process.   
“Guess what? I know those guys visiting you!” Of course he did, she sighed affectionately an shook her head, “The one with the name-badge is David, he's the responsible one... oh and he and grandma hand out and play chess together. I've never really seen grandma get mad at anyone before, but she was so angry at him for winning as chess that she threw her marshmallows at him and refused to share her jello like he usually does. And then the other guy is Neal. I don’t really know him but he's cool and my mom always seems to smile at him so he must get along with her pretty well,” He finally took a breathe, allowing Belle to finally get a word in.

“Henry, I'm kinda busy. Did you need something?” Henry blinked at her, taking a second to look around at his surroundings before his mouth formed a little 'o'. 

“It's tuesday isn't it? Was all he said before he sat in her chair, his hand popped over the armrest and brushed the arm of Rumpel's.

“Yes,” She knew that, silly boy.

“I was here two weeks ago right?” his face grew puzzled, “I thought it was two weeks ago anyway,” his voice dropped to that of a murmur. 

Belle felt like hitting her head. Two weeks. She'd forgotten all about Henry's errand, she truly was a terrible god-grandmother. She would have to make up something on the spot, “Oh Right! Tuesday!”

His face split into a grin, he hopped up and practically danced up to her.

He waited, she paused, “You errand is.. to catch ... ,”

He seemed to be holding his breathe, “A snipe,”

He deadpanned, “A snipe,”

“Yes,”

“Well what's it look like?” he bit his lip, looking the spitting image of his grandma.

“It's colorful, and fast,” She really hoped he was buying this.

“Oh I saw something like that on the way over!” his uniform was wrinkled, she noticed, and his clothes were dirty but the way his face lit up made her lie worth it.He as going to get dirtier with or without her help, his parents might just skewer her though, “Why do you need to catch it?”

“It eats my gardens! Gets in my vegetables and bulbs, really a nuisance. Can you do it?”

He grinned, I'm a cub scout!” he did something weird with his hands, hooking the thumbs over one another and flapping his fingers, “Rawr, Rawr! Rawr!! Of course I can,”

Then he was out the door and down the street, she breathed a sigh of relief then went to work.

She kept an eye on the men by the white van, who Henry seemed know. 

 

__**__

“What do you think?” Neal asked, watching the woman through the window.

“I think she's a woman who doesn't know how to be alone,” David sighed, understanding. Kathryn's death had been heart-wrenching. It had taken time, time to move on and time to be okay with being alone again. Mary Margaret had helped, she was a very kind lady.

Now he had a problem of a different kind.

Fingers were snapped in his face, “Come on man, don't space out on me,”

“Sorry,” He readjusted against the van, trying to find a spot in his back that didn't feel taunt, “Who was the bastard and when did he leave her alone?”

Neal clicked his tongue, “Files in the front seat,”

David twisted around and reached into the cracked window, pulling the manilla envelope through the crack and flipped it opening, “Weren't you supposed to read this?

Neal snorted, “I got what I needed,”

“But you don't her husband's name.... is Richard and her personal nickname for him was Rumpelstiltskin?” David smirked at Neal, watching the man huff.

“I need to know her, I don't need to know her husband.... Richard Gold? Really?” Neal was shaking his head, “Poor guy,”  
“Poor? He left enough money for six wives,” David mused as he flipped through the file, “And to know her, one had to know the kind of man she fell in love with,”

“What makes you say that?” Neal was watching her again, bustling about in her what appeared to be her library.

“What do you think she's doing?” David smirked again, “She's running away,”

The look on Neal's face when the balloons appeared and pulled the house away was perfect, “Let's go home then,”


End file.
